My Baby

Well today was a lovely day where I am - I hope it was where you all are :-)

My walking is going well another walk done - 12.4km of the 80km now. I won't be going out walking tonight though as I'm going visiting with J! Poor J gets dragged around madly between 5 and 6 since I can't take him visiting during the day. At least I've started being stricter on myself and have been getting him home by 6 (or 6.15 at the latest) to begin his tea and bedtime routine.

So here's what's new(ish) with my gorgeous wee man:

- We now have a total of 4 teeth and maybe some more on the way judging by recent grizzliness and wakefulness.
- Up up up! All he wants to do is stand up holding things (like the coffee table) and once up bounce up and down giving his Nana a heart attack as she thinks he's going to hit his head mid bounce.
- Pointing apparently is the new in thing - not at things in the distance but at really close things - like Mummy's nose, a crumb on the floor. Clapping is sadly out - he doesn't do that so much anymore that was super cute!

I want you!

- We're practising reading books - at the moment I get maybe 1 maybe 2 pages done before Joshua grabs the book and tries to eat it. As I think we should be starting to think about limits I try not to let him do this but instead hold the book further away which sometimes works.
- We have recently rediscovered the joy of baby-wearing so often now for quick mall trips J will go on my back instead of the buggy - much easier for manoeuvrings.
- Hehe I've figured out if you comb his hair in a certain way after washing it then that style will hold till the next time it's washed. He therefore often ends up with a Tintin-esque front flip.


I love every second I get with my wee guy - finally when he hit about 8 months I had the baby I thought I was going to get when he was born. He started sleeping better at night, he started lying still in our arms for cuddles, started falling asleep in the car instead of screaming every trip. I think I get to appreciate it all the more now though for having 8 months of the other!

Blah weekend

Ok so this weekend has been totally blah! I mean the highlight was making tamborines with Clairey and then going to the mall to buy lunch. Oh actually wait - I did visit the lovely Kirsty :-)

J and I tried to visit my Gran - his Great Gran - well we did visit but he cried and cried when we got there. I think he must have been scared - this was common for him a couple of months ago but this was clingy to the extreme. We ended up putting him in the car where he was instantly fine again and Gran and I had our catch up sitting parked up at the beach looking at the rain and waves while J dozed. Also eating an absolutely divine friand and brownie which we split - thanks Gran!

Mum and I have a regular Sunday morning bike ride and run date. It's actually becoming something I really look forward to now. As soon as J wakes we hop in the car and go round to Mum and Dad's. Mum and I will hop on our bikes and do half an hour or so, then another 20 minutes running - this is prep for this summer's triathlons. J gets to hang out with his Grandad which I think is really cool. I know those two are going to be best buddies! I was really happy for my Dad when J turned out to be a boy as Dad is such an amazing Dad to all three of us girls but he never got to do all that much "boy stuff" with us . Anyway they normally go for a walk in the park to feed the ducks and have a swing. We get back and J and I raid Mum and Dad's cupboards for breakfast (tee hee).

Ok well reading this back it doesn't seem like as bad a weekend as all that. I think it's the weather that has made me feel blah - it's been so cold and we've been spoilt lately with all the lovely warm weather!

80km challenge update - now up to - 11.1km! Not too late to join in.... :-D

80km in 80 Days!

Man! I really need to do something about my lack of writing posts! So much has been happening here that I should be writing updates about. Must do something about that...

Today though is about walking! I'm taking part in a challenge from over at Me In A Snap to walk 80km in 80 days. And YOU SHOULD ALL DO IT TOO! It's a brilliant concept. Find something that's good for you that someone else is doing, tell them you're doing it too then you have to (otherwise you'll be letting them down)! So go on - tell me you're doing it and do it! I promise to cheer you on! But do it now, don't wait till tomorrow tell me today!

So far I've gotten off to a great start going for a walk everyday I've been doing it - 3 days - 3 walks - a total of 7.8km.

This challenge in particular is great as it's very achievable for most people. Even if you're really busy already walking 1km take about 15 mins and most people can find 15 mins in their day. When you sit down to watch Shortland Street (or The Family Guy or whatever else you watch) just head out the door instead and you'll still be back for the second half of the program and you'll get the jist of what you missed!

Here's my favourite mapping site if you do want to get your walk on this will handily tell you how far you've been: mapometer

The Aftermath

To be honest some of what happened last Saturday after the quake is a blur - I don't remember it all. For example I don't remember any aftershocks that morning - but there must have been - other people remember them.

Some things I do remember. So here's what you can expect if this ever happens to you...

Sirens. Sirens have become commonplace background noise around here. It's only in the last couple of days that they have eased up. Sirens make me sad at the best of time especially ambulance ones.

Aftershocks. Aftershocks aftershocks aftershocks. There have been A LOT. Apparently they may keep going for months. Personally I don't mind them, some people do. I really feel for those people but at least they are getting less and further apart. They will stop one day :-)

Water. Water is a good thing to have. Even if you don't have a survival kit get some water. You may just need it - who would have thought in Christchurch with the best tasting water in the whole damn world we wouldn't be able to drink our tap water. Having some bottled water would have been very handy.

The internet. Man I missed the internet while our power was out. Thank goodness for cell phones!

Phones. It's also a good idea to have a phone that doesn't need to be plugged into a power source. You know, because the power went out! Those old style phones that just need a phone jack. Dig yours out so you know where it is - we did - it was handy!

Comradery. No longer will you have awkward "how's your day" conversations with the supermarket checkout operator. An earthquake is a guaranteed conversation starter. It is suddenly acceptable to talk to total stranger - New Zealanders can be very standoffish and Canterbury got a break from that. We all went through something big. We all have that in common. We have a reason to talk.

Love. I was overwhelmed by the concern the people in my life had for me. Within the first few hours I had friends from over New Zealand and the world enquiring as to how we'd got on and in the following week even more emails and facebook messages. It was amazing and humbling to know how many people care about us. Thank you.

New Zealand. I am so grateful that this happened to me in New Zealand. New Zealand with its not too shabby at all building standards. Sure brick chimneys are a pretty dumb idea here and every second house used to have them - but really for most people the loss of a chimney was the worst that happened and that is pretty awesome. For those who weren't so lucky my thoughts are with you and if there is anything I can do at all to help please let me know :-)

Earthquake Post

Well I thought I should do an earthquake post.

So if you missed it - there was a BIG earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on September 4th 2010 - 7.1 magnitude followed by a few hundred aftershocks (literally). So here's how it went down at my house.

Well I woke up to shaking (doh). I sat bolt upright and woke instantly (I'm one of those sleep -> alert people in a second) though my brain wasn't thinking earthquake. I've been in earthquakes before - quite a few - earthquakes in my past experience didn't feel like this this felt like someone had picked up my house and was shaking it! I actually thought someone was bulldozing our house! That thought only lasted for a second then next thought was "Joshua!". Darren was by now sitting too but he was still waking up.

I jumped out of bed and made it to Joshua's room. It wasn't easy going but I will admit it is all a bit blurry. Going round my head were horrible thoughts - we have a framed picture above Joshua's bed and I was so worried it would have fallen and hit him on the head. He was fine - I don't even know if he was awake I ripped him from his bed so quickly. Darren caught up and we sort of had a "where to now?" moment before I decided to stay under Joshua's doorway. I think we all hugged each other.

A minute later the quake stopped. I actually have no memory of how long it lasted - I know it lasted just under a minute from reports I've since read. I said to Darren get the pictures off Joshua's wall - so he took all the pictures down. Then we went back into our bedroom and Darren realised the power was off. What to do now. It was cold. Joshua and I got back into bed. Darren produced a torch from somewhere and hung it from the light fixture. I told him to turn it off to save the batteries. I can't remember what else we said to each other. Interestingly we didn't go and check out the rest of the house.

I thought about putting Joshua back in bed - for about half a second. I remember being concerned that he'd be scared because his night light wasn't going. Then I realised without his heater on he'd be too cold. BINGO justification for keeping him right next to me snuggled in bed. So then we lay there in bed together, snuggled under than blanket. I had the bright idea to turn my cellphone ringer on and my parents called and a few texts were exchanged with Darren's family too. I kept feeding Joshua to try and keep him happy and hopefully get him back to sleep - in the darkness he had bad aim so I got lots of bruises.

Eventually Darren went to sleep, and Joshua went to sleep. I didn't. I'm not sure if it was the Earthquake or my fear of squashing him in our sleep or just because I wanted to watch him sleep. He looks so perfect when he's asleep, so peaceful. So I lay there watching him sleep. He woke crying around 6.30. Our whole house was cold and Joshua wasn't interested in lying still in bed. So up and dressed for us, then we decided to go round the corner to my parents with their log burner.

First we inspected the damage. An ornament we'd bought in Rome had broken (drat), a glass in the sink had broken, spring flowers out of the vase and on the floor, cans out of our cupboards, TV toppled over. Lots of things had fallen but not broken which was great - Darren was convinced our TV would be broken but due to lack of power we couldn't test (it turned out to be fine).

Outside on the street it was now light and neighbours had started gathering. I felt a bit bad driving away past them but gave them a quick wave as we went past. The car radio was our first contact with the outside world. 7.4 they were saying at that time. Don't drive unless you have to (whoops). At Mum and Dads things started to feel more normal again. They had the gas cooker out and were making toast mmmm. Hehe I remember remarking to Claire that it would be hilarious for all the people who had hooked up on the Friday night and were now stuck at their one night stand's house! (I still think this is funny). I was obviously feeling ok again!

That's all for now :-)

Yours Sincerely, A Jogger

Dear Walker-Who-Avoids-Eye-Contact,

Don't be embarrassed to look at me - I know my face is red and sweaty, my hair all fuzzy and I have sweat stains and look horrible but I'd still appreciate a "hello" and I'll give one back to you!

Dear Walker-Who-Gives-Me-Some-Encouraging-Words,

Thanks so much! I wish there were more people like you in NZ - there were more in the UK - but you are a very rare breed here! Your kind words give me a little boost and make me push that little bit harder!

Dear Overweight-Middle-Age-Lady-Beginner-Jogger,

You are doing so awesome. I hope you are really proud of your efforts you are amazing and I hope I'm out there jogging when I'm your age! I know it's really tough to start with but keep it up and you'll be improving in no time!

Dear Much-Faster-and-Fitter-Than-Me-Runner,

Thanks for smiling at me! It can get lonely out running and it's always nice to make contact with another runner. Seeing you with your nice big strides and good technique reminds me to check my own.

Dear Dog-Owner-Who-Doesn't-Pick-Up-Their-Doggy-Doo,

Yuck. Just yuck.

Dear Dog-Owner-Who-Does-Pick-Up-Their-Doggy-Do,

You rock, thanks!

Dear Guy-Wolf-Whistling-From-a-Car,

I know I should take offense. Your whistles are degrading - in fact your whistles may actually be ironic, you may be thinking "haha lets embarrass that fatty" but secretly I choose to be flattered. I choose to assume you're actually thinking "woah nice legs" because that's what I think when I see my legs in my shorts!

Yours Sincerely,

A Jogger

Big Trip

Partly to try out Mindy's special logo for Amy posts and partly to give some context to any future rushed posts that may appear from internet cafes (depending on how much fun I'm having of course!) I thought I might as well tell Mindy's devoted blog readers who don't know about my big trip. Tom and I are off to Europe for six weeks in only three sleeps and I'm super excited!! Just so any potential robbers (who read Mindy's blog) know though my little sis is kindly staying in our house (plus we have nothing to steal anyway!)

The trip has been a long time coming, I keep leaving jobs resulting in my leave balance dropping to zero. I can't believe it's finally (almost) here! We start off in Paris then it's off to the Swiss Alps, Provence, Barcelona, Nice, Florence, Rome, then a cruise round the Eastern Med, Athens, Venice, Salzburg (hehe poor tom although I've decided not to do a sound of music tour as I'm afraid his moaning will ruin the trip), Bavaria then the Black Forest. I'm so excited about the cathedrals, ancient ruins, cheese, but probably most of all the Castles!!! (spot the difference anyone? Well it doesn't really matter since I'm going to both! (again, poor tom :) ))

Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely spring and enjoy the daffodils!

Apple Oat and Bran Muffins

Well I didn't intend to post this recipe on my blog. They're not pretty and they're not glamorous, and, well, I'm all about pretty and glamour. But I just keep making these babies and they are just that gooooood that I can't help myself. Also they're really healthy (very little sugar, LOTS of fibre, low GI) and if you make with soy milk like me they're diary free! I make 24 out of one batch of pretty small muffins (not quite mini but close) and I think the little size really works as they are quite dense. It's also a super easy recipe and you can substitute almost anything out or in. For example they'd probably be awesome with some spices like cinamon thrown in but I didn't think of it at the time.

200°C

1 C Milk (I used skim soy milk)
1 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Molasses (could substitute raw sugar or brown sugar or white sugar if you really want)
1/4 C Oil (I used Rice Bran Oil)
2 eggs
1 1/2 C Bran
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 C Flour
1 C Oats (any kind I used normal porridge oats)
1/2 C Raisins
2 Large apples diced (I leave the skins on, added vitamins!)

1. Mix milk, honey, molasses, oil, eggs and bran until well combined.
2. Sift in baking powder, baking soda, flour and salt and stir until just combined (try to keep it under 25 stirs).
3. Stir in the oats, raisin and apple.
4. Spoon into muffin trays and bake for about 15 minutes.

Note 2 apples is quite a lot, you end up basically spooning apple with a small amount of mixture - if you like your muffins more muffiny then just use one apple.

Enjoy!